Bara en härd

The purpose of this article is to discuss possible interpretations of quite a common kind of prehistoric site consisting of single hearths without any visible context. The examined sites are located in Västergötland, in an area that was relatively sparsely inhabited during the Bronze Age and Iron Age. The function of the hearths has been studied in detail in regard to three aspects ; whether they were energy efficient, whether they have been reused and if particular kinds of wood have been used as fuel. Depending on their context, they were then analysed according to four different suggested interpretations , to find out if they might have been meeting places, boundary marks, temporary resting places for travellers or places for shepherds in an organised system of cattle herding. Along with pollen diagrams, the results of the study indicate an increase of grazing in the area. This suggests that most of the sites with hearths were resting places for shepherds.